GemFair News
GemFair fosters economic development for artisanal and small-scale miners by providing them with:
Creating a digital record of the diamonds found at registered artisanal mine sites.
GemFair trains miners on safer and more environmentally responsible mining standards. Miners also have access to tutorials prepared by leading diamond experts.
Miners receive fair value for their diamonds.
GemFair has developed a tailored technology solution that includes an app and dedicated tablet, supported by a diamond toolkit. This solution seeks to enable the digital tracking of responsibly sourced ASM diamonds throughout the value chain.
We welcome any feedback and questions on our programme. If you have a question that is not addressed below, please email us at hello@gemfair.com, and we will get back to you shortly.
GemFair is a programme developed by De Beers Group to create a secure and transparent route to market for ethically sourced artisanal and small-scale mined (ASM) diamonds. By providing artisanal and small-scale miners with access to the global market, offering fair prices and training opportunities, GemFair hopes to improve miners’ livelihoods and foster the sector’s development as a credible and trusted source of diamond supply.
Our solution combines dedicated software (an app) and hardware (diamond toolkit) that seeks to enable the digital tracking of ASM diamonds throughout the supply chain and addresses key challenges and risks relating to artisanal and small-scale mining activity. All participating miners are required to meet minimum operating and ethical standards aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals. GemFair is currently being implemented in Sierra Leone, where the government has already made significant progress in formalising the artisanal mining sector.
The artisanal diamond mining sector employs an estimated 1.5 million people globally. Many in this sector are not realising the value of their labour. Although the task is challenging, GemFair believes that the artisanal mining sector should be recognised and included in international trade. The aim of this project is to support the sector’s drive for formalisation and contribute to its development. GemFair forms an important part of De Beers Group’s sustainability commitment to create scalable solutions to raise livelihoods of artisanal miners by 2030. See our Building Forever 2030 Goals for more information.
The Government of Sierra Leone has made great strides in formalising the ASM sector, and we believe that GemFair can offer an unprecedented opportunity to take this process to the next level.
GemFair aims to empower miners by teaching them about diamond valuation and improving their livelihoods by offering them fair value. GemFair will focus on raising standards in the artisanal mining sector and bringing traceability to the supply chain using our digital solution. We will be measuring our impact rigorously through qualitative and quantitative surveys as well as various monitoring and evaluation activities.
GemFair has developed a Responsible ASM Assurance Programme that sets out our required ASM standards and the training we provide along the way. Artisanal miners must pass our initial due diligence checks — which are closely aligned with the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains’ Annex II - including proving that they possess a license to operate. Our due diligence verification includes a site visit to gather information about the mine’s precise location and working conditions, ensuring that our gated criteria is being met. We also screen the candidate through an international database. Once a candidate passes our gated criteria, they join our assurance programme, where we provide a suite of training and capacity building for miners and their workers to raise their standards. When artisanal miners join our programme, they receive ongoing training, mentoring and bespoke capacity development programmes to support their journey of continuous improvement. You can find more information on the GemFair Responsible Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Assurance Programme here.
Yes! We commission a third-party audit of our due diligence management system at least once during our programme’s 18-month cycle. So far, we have had two successful audits. You can read more about the auditor’s findings in our annual reports here.
We have developed a tailored technology solution with dedicated hardware and software. These have been designed to meet the ASM sector’s particular requirements, both in terms of being practical (weatherproof, hard-wearing, functioning in different light conditions) and risk-mitigating (featuring digitally supported bag-and-tag equipment and GPS location of diamonds). Eventually, our aim is that the digital solution will integrate with the industry Internet of Value platform 'Tracr' adding an additional layer of assurance and traceability.
We are currently implementing GemFair in Sierra Leone, where we are learning how best to run this complex programme. We are not yet working in other countries, but we hope to expand in the future.
GemFair is focusing exclusively on diamonds for the time being. However, with minor tweaks to the software, the solution could potentially be used for other minerals in the future.
Join us on our mission to create equal opportunities for all by supporting artisanal mining and unlocking global markets. We are always looking for talented and passionate people to join our team. If you don't see an open position for the role that you are interested in, please do not hesitate to reach out directly to jobs@gemfair.com.